Traveling conveyer.



E. M. CLARK. v TRAVELING GONVBYER. APPLICATION FILED JULY 23, 1910Patented Jan; 31,1911.

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INI/ NTOR Ez/BM MULH/FK ATTOR/VE Y8 WITNESSES:

R. M. CLARK. TRAVELING GONVEYER. APPLIOATION FILED JULY 23 1910 PatentedJan.31, 1911.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

ATTORNEYS RQM. CLARK.

TRAVELING GONVEYER.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 23, 1910.

Patented Jan.31,1911

3 SHEETSSHEET 3.

ATTORNE Y8 rpm NORRIS PETERS cm, WASHINGTON u. c

units srrir REUBEN M. CLARK, OF WEBB CITY, MISSOURI.

TRAVELING CONVEYER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented J an. 31, 1911.

To all whom it may concern:

3e it known that I, REUBEN M. CLARK, a citizen of the United States, anda resident of Webb City, in the county of Jasper and State of Missouri,have invented an Improved Traveling Conveyer, ofwhich the following is aspecification.

My invention is a machine adapted for removing tailings when piled uponthe ground, or sand, and various other loose materials, the same beingtaken up by a conveyer proper formed of belts with buckets attached, andby which the material is delivered into a chute and thus discharged intoa car. The operative parts, save the car, are mounted upon a wheel-truckadapted, like the car, to run on rails. The truck wheels are geared withthe same motor that drives the conveyer proper, the gearing for thewheels being reversible, so that the machine may be driven in eitherdirection, that is to say, forward or back. The car may be run up to, ormoved away, from the con veyer proper, conditions require.

he details of construction, arrangement, and operation of parts are ashereinafter described, and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, inwhich Figure 1 is a side elevation of the machine. 2 is a plan view ofthe same. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the major part of the gearing, thatis to say, the gearing which is mounted. directly upon the truck andoperatively connected with the wheels of the latter. Fig. 4: is aside-elevation of the mechanism for reversing the direction of movementof the machine as a whole. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the eccentricand lever forming part of the reversing mechanism.

The truck upon which the conveyer proper is mounted is formed of sidebars 1 and flanged wheels 2 that are adapted to run upon rails The baseframe 4 of the conveyer pr per is supported by a spring on the truckframe 1, and a vertical frame 5 is supported on the horizontal or baseframe l. From this vertical frame 5, beams 6 extend forward and downwardto the front of the conveyor, and in the lower end of the same thedriving shaft 7 is suitably mounted. The upper and drivingconveyer-shaft 8 is supported in boxing on the top of the vertical frame5, and is constantly driven in the direction indicated by the arrow.

The conveyer proper is formed of a series of endless belts 9, carryingbuckets 10, and arranged to run upon flanged pulleys suitably keyed onthe respective shafts 7 and 8 and arranged side by side, as shown inFig. 2. The buckets of the conveyer discharge into a hopper 11 having achute or spout 12 which delivers into the car 13 adapted to run on thetrack behind the conveyer, and operatively connected therewith, so as tobe run up to or away from the conveyer, as will be presently described.

As indicated in Figs. 1 and 3, an electric motor 1a is arranged on themain frame 4: and provided at one end with a spur gear 15 which mesheswith a larger gear 16 keyed on a countershaft 17. On one end of thiscountershaft 17 is mounted a pulley 18 from which a belt 19 runs to alarger pulley 20 mounted on a shaft 21 arranged in the upper portion ofthe vertical frame 5. On the other end of shaft 21 is keyed a spurpinion 2 that meshes with the large gear 23 keyed on the driving shaft 8of the conveyer. It is to be supposed that the motor is constantlydriven and the countershaft 17 also, so that, through the gear 18, belt19, and gearing 20, 21, 22, and 23, the conveyer proper is alsoconstantly driven. The machine as a whole, however, must be drivenforward as the material is taken up, and also driven backward at times,and for this purpose it is requisite that the motor shall be connectedreversibly with the axles of the truck running-wheels 2.

As shown in Fig. 3, a large spur gear 24 is keyed on the front axle 25and meshes with a pinion 26 keyed on a short countershaft 27, whichcarries a large gear 28 that in turn meshes with a pinion 29 on a shortcountershaft 30. This last-named shaft carries a large gear 31 thatmeshes with a gear 32 keyed on a shaft 33see Fig. 1. The rear axle 25 issimilarly connected with the shaft 86 through gearing which ispractically a duplicate of that already described.

On the farther end of shaft 33see Fig. 3there is keyed a spur gear 34:which meshes with a pinion 35 on shaft 36 arranged directly over saidshaft 33 and having near its other end a large friction wheel or drum 37keyed thereon. The shaft 36 is adapted to be shifted right or left, tobring the large drum 37 into contact with either of the small paperdrums 38 or 12. An eccentric 36 is mounted loose on the shaft 36 andsaid lever, the eccentric is rotated a part of e a revolution, and thatend of shaft 36 is thereby shifted right or left so as to bring thelarge friction wheel 37 into contact with paper drums 88 or 42, with theresult that the machine is driven forward or backward, as may bedesired. It is obvious the farther end of shaft 36 must be fitted loosein its bearings to allow the near end, bearing the wheel 37, to beshifted as stated. The drums 38 and 12 are constantly driven, and theshaft 36 is driven only when the large drum is in contact with one orthe other of the smaller drums.

An electrical controller is arranged contiguous to and suitablyconnected with the motor 14, and since it involves no novelty, furtheror detailed description is unnecessary.

The chute or spout 12 is shown provided with a valve 48 which may beoperated by a handle %9 for opening or closing as may be desired. Thishandle is in such position that it may be easily reached by the operatorstanding on the platform on base frame 1.

On the rear end of the frame 4 are arranged two drums 50 and 51, eachmounted upon a short axle and having an adjacent gear 52 and 53. Thesegears mesh with pinions 54. that are mounted on a shaft which isoperatively connected by gearing 56 with the driven shaft 17 beforedescribed. Each of the pinions is provided with a clutch by which it maybe shifted on a feather and thus brought into or out of mesh with thegear on the adjacent drum. In brief, by operating these clutches,reversely, one drum may be turned in one direction and the other leftfree, and vice versa.

A belt or rope 56-see Fig. 1connects the front end of the car with oneof the drums, say 50, and another belt 57 is similarly connected withthe other drum, 51, and passes around a fixed pulley 58. It will now beapparent that, by operating the drums 50, 51, that is to say, byalternately clutching or releasing them, the car may be hauled up to theeonveyer proper or hauled away therefrom. lVhen hauled up to theconveyer, the chute discharges into it and when filled, the operator maymove the car away to the place where its contents are to be dumped.Thus, the car forms a necessary part of the conveyer and is operativelyconnected with the same motor that drives the conveyer and also shiftsit backward and forward on the track.

In Fig. 1, spirally flanged drums 59 are shown mounted on the extendedends of the lower conveyer shaft 7, so that they are rotated therewith.The spiral flanges attached to the periphery of the drums are soarranged as to force or push the loose material which they encountertoward and in front of the conveyer proper. in other words, thesespirally flanged drums constitute lateral feeders, tending to crowd orpush the loose material into position to be readily taken up by thebuckets of the conveyer.

Under the conveyer proper is arranged an inclined chute-board 60 bywhich material falling or scattering from the buckets is reeonveyed tothe point of take-up.

In Fig. 3, two balance wheels 61 and G2 are shown, the same beingapplied respectively, to the shafts 55 and 17.

lVhat I claim is 1. The machine for the purpose specified, comprising awheeled truck having front and rear axles, a motor which is operativelyconnected with both axles by interposed gearing, a shaft 17 carrying afriction wheel 88 and geared with one side of the motor, a countershaft41 carrying a friction wheel 42 and geared with the other side of themotor, and an interposed shaft operatively connected with the two setsof gearing which are connected with the respective axles and carrying alarge friction wheel which is interposed between the aforesaid frictionwheels 38 and a2, and adapted to be shifted into contact with either,for driving the truck in one direction or the other, substantially asdescribed.

2. The combination with a wheeled truck having front and rear axles, oftwo sets of gearing connected with the respective axles and interposedgearing including parallel shafts 17 and '11 and friction drums 38 and4-2 carried thereby, the shaft and shaft 36 arranged thereover andadapted to be shifted laterally at one end, a large friction drum keyedon said shaft and adapted for contact with either of the smallerfriction drums, an eccentric mounted loose on such shaft 36, and boxingin which the eccentric is rotatable, as shown and described.

REUBEN M. CLARK.

lVitnesses Amos. D. HATTEN, F. W. KELLER.

